Digital Grog — Australia’s Tech, Gadgets & Digital Life Unfiltered

Digital Grog is Australia’s go‑to tech blog for sharp reviews, digital trends, AI tools, gadgets, cybersecurity updates, and practical how‑tos covering the latest in Aussie technology

2017

How to start a new wordpress blog in 15 minutes without breaking a sweat

by 14 Comments

In this new era, things are pretty easy to do with point – touch and click convenience. Starting a brand new wordpress blog has also become a lot easier with this easy with this click and install technology. [ Blog post updated May 2021]

Below I have given an easy to follow guide to install your new wordpress blog  with bluehost in minutes. I have chosen bluehost, because they have also been the official hosting partner to the most popular  website and blogging platform online – wordpress.org and are also recommended by them.

Bluehost has come out with a  new deal at $2.95 for limited time, and its updated just below.  The 1 click install comes with all of their plans to make the process of creating a blog so much more easier and quicker.(this deal wont last long)

blog creation

 

When you start to think  and ask yourself Will I be able to make a blog on my own,  you might  start to get  a bit worried or  stressed. But let me assure you, – it’s not that hard as many people would make you think. With the 1 click install and new custom software, making the whole website process has become quite easy peasy (really!). I will show you how below. Here is a current bluehost offer to get your started

Low Price off Bluehost  Hosting

Deal just updated – Its not often that you get such a good hosting offer from bluehost at

Just $2.95 for their sale in 2021 – Grab it here via my link ($2.95)

 

clip_image002

[Below is my detailed step by step starting guide.]

I am going to give you the most detailed and easy to set up guide to get your shiny new blog started today, so there is no more reasons for you to slack off and you can get it literally started today – Like now!

You could most definitely do the whole website install in 5 to 10 minutes if you’re that good, but  for some it may take a tad bit more time than five minutes (15 to 20 mins max)

Installing and Setting up a wordpress blog Easily

 

I have created tutorials on getting your website started before, but people have given me feedback that it’s not detailed enough and had too much fluff . So here is a brand new one.

This is a  “barebones get your blogging started today” kind of guide with as many pictures as i could gather –  that I could include in one mega post . So don’t be shy and get started with your online venture already!

I deal with many hosting companies and bluehost is one of my favourite hosting companies. I recommend them just because they are always priced nice and affordable and have reliable hosting and they are also easy to use.

In fact they have been the top recommended hosting company by wordpress.org. I also recommend the “WordPress CMS” which is one of the easiest to use website software.They are many top Australian websites using wordpress including HeraldSun which uses the more pricey enterprise version VIP wordpress.

Below is the main hosting pricing plans for blue host called the

  • Basic plan
  • Plus plan
  • Pro plan.

[Prices for hosting plans below]

The plus plan is most popular for a reason, if you decide to start another blog then you can use the same hosting account for more blogs – anywhere up to 10 blogs.

Off course the basic plan makes sense if you are just starting out and on a budget, which most of us are.

I know when I was looking to start my first blog, the price was the most important factor in addition to reliability of the provider

Special Promotion Offer for 2021 from Digital GROG + BLUEHOST

 Bluehost  Hosting Special deal for 2021

Deal : Its not often that you get such a good hosting offer from bluehost at Current updated deal for 2021 
Shared Basic Hosting Package Now Only $2.95 for 36 Months! one low price
[Most plans include one free domain]

 

The next couple of steps  to start a blog, could easily be done in a couple of minutes.

 

Step 1 – Choose a hosting plan that is suitable for you

 

clip_image004

At this stage, click on select – after selecting your plan if you have not got a domain and you are making use of the free domain name with your bluehost plan, you can then search for that free domain name over here.

 

Step 2 – Choose your  domain name

If you already got a domain name that you want to use with this webhosting account then you can transfer it to your blog hosting as well on this screen.

clip_image006

 

Step 3  – Provide the Name and details for billing  and your confirmation emails 

Next you put in your payment details and then go to the next step of choosing your plan and optional extras you would choose.

 

 

clip_image008

To get the $3.95 deal you will need to get the 36 month webhosting plan. I will be honest and tell you, that I thought this to be a trick to get me to sign up for a longer period. But in fact it saved me money over the longer period when I purchased my first hosting as the price rose the next year.

I managed to escape that price rise due to being on a longer plan. But you can choose a plan according to your ownr budget  and affordability.

At the minimum, I would recommend you get the domain privacy and site back up pro as optional extras, if you can afford it.

The domain privacy stops people from snooping on your name and address which would need to be listed in the registration details when you buy a domain name.

The site back up is regular backups of your website  that the hosting company  keeps just in case of any emergency  or hacking  of website by outsiders.

 

Step 4 –  Select  your Plan or Package and any Optional extras

 

clip_image010

Please note down your login email/name and password that you will register with bluehost to login into WP admin later.

When you finish purchasing your hosting, you can login to your hosting account immediately with the login and password details.

Below is the wordpress backend cpanel sitehosting screen once you login top admin area. The website login area is different from this login area.

 

Step 5  – Click on the install word-press icon

 

clip_image012

 

 

Step 6 – Install WordPress

You will see this screen next (to start a brand new wordpress blog install), click start

clip_image013

 

 

Step 7 –  Select the free domain name you got or then the domain name you transferred in this screen and then click to install your blog

clip_image015

The wordpress website/blog installation process will begin now.

WordPress can be customised to be used as a blog or a business website. All you need to do is change the theme to change the blog design and look of the blog/website to any sort of website you need.

 

 

Step 9  –  Blog is installing

 

Themes are available on the internet from as low as $10 a theme and also for free from within your wordpress blog.

 

clip_image017

 

That’s it, follow the instructions on the next pages to finish, and your blog should get installed in the next couple of minutes and you should be ready to blog.

 

You will get sent an email with login details

 

Your blog is ready and set up, now all you have to do is write content and tweak your blog further if you need by logging into the admin area of your  blog.

 

I suggest you first  write up and article or two  on your blog as your first priority and then explore further  options from within your admin area over a period of time  to improve your website functionality, design and SEO.

 

Remember that this special price of $3.95 a month can be claimed by our digital grog readers by signing up from this tutorial here and you get this special price for 36 months + a free domain name.

The type of web host you choose is an incredibly important choice for what type of website you create. The type of server you choose impacts elements like performance, security, scalability, and management level of your website. Shared hosting is a great choice for beginners and smaller websites. It’s cost-effective and doesn’t require lots of technical knowledge to get started.

The good thing about getting a bluehost hosting account is that they not only offer other popular website software like Drupal and Joomla apart from word-press, but also offer a range of other software’s like Coppermine (you can create your own image gallery online which other people can contribute too), PHBB forums (you can create a forum of your own) and many more useful scripts.

I hope this detailed picture tutorial helped you in some way. Do leave me a comment below to show you luv or just ask a question and I will try to answer it soon as I can. Let me know if there is anything worth adding to this tutorialonce you have gone through the same process and I shall add it in or update in a new post.

Good luck on your new journey!!

/jeff

Article originally published Jul 13, 2017 at 02:42 updated on 29/05/2021

Daymm !! Domains Cheap as chips

by | Oct 30, 2018 | , , , , , , , , , ,

The World’s #1 Domain Registrar. Get Your Australian Domain Today with discounts and our special coupon codes. Snag a discount while watching how I used some coupon codes to get some great discounts on domain names when I planned to start a new website. These promo codes will have to be used at the end of your purchase process in your cart.

Is Google Home Smart Device Worth the Money

by

I got Google home for myself, thinking I would be the only person using Google home (GH) in my household. How wrong was i?

Post updated 11th October 2018 – Google announced the Google Home Hub, the first smart display hardware made by Google.

Google’s Home Hub doesn’t run Android Things—it’s actually built on Google’s Cast platform. The device is tiny, with only a 7-inch screen that isn’t much bigger than the body of a smartphone. Google says it excluded a video camera because it wants users to feel “comfortable” with the Home Hub, but the absence of a camera will also save on the bill of materials.

Google Home was released in the United States on November 4, 2016. I got it two weeks earlier to its Australia launch, thanks to family on a US trip.

Google went on sale in Australia on Thursday July 20 for AU$199 in The Google Store, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Telstra, Optus and Qantas Store.

Comparison of Smart –  Voice Activated Devices  Google Home and Echo

[table “3” not found /]

My partner now uses Google Home, my daughter loves GH and funnily also thinks there is an actual person hiding in there. My dog thinks Google home is evil, he can’t stop barking at it at times, when it does its thing. But yes this smart home gadget indeed has managed to get everyone in the house and also visitors talking to him.

chromecast 2017

My little one calls the speaker MR .Google and thinks there is a person in there answering all her questions. Dare I swear at Google out of frustration and she will come to the rescue.

How do you speak to Google Home?

Just say – OKAY GOOGLE or HEY GOOGLE – and ask it a Question.

hey google

The other day, I had my brother in law visit. He looked at Google gave it a stiff upper lip look and suspicious eye and said, so this is supposed to be the new smart gadget aye. He decided to challenge Google home to see if it is really as smart as it says it is. He threw his best challenge question at the smart device. Google home got asked what the full form of Qantas is.

I will be honest, I didn’t know that one and I wasn’t very confident of my smart Google also being able to retrieve an answer, specially also since I had it for just two weeks now and didn’t ask it any difficult questions yet.

We were all pleasantly surprised, Google managed to  give the correct answer

The Qantas name comes from “QANTAS“, an acronym for its original name, “Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services”, and it is nicknamed “The Flying Kangaroo”.

Using your Google Home for Childrens Education

Technology will always advance and the sooner you adopt it the better for the future of your kids. Smart devices can do a lot for your kids’ education and knowledge, and Google home excels in doing this as well.

I have used this as speech therapy device to make my little one speak more clearly and slowly. I have used it to teach her numbers, maths and science.

Numbers and maths for kids

Ask google –
Can you count from 1 to 10 / 10 to 20 to 50 and so on and you get them saying numbers
it will count from 1 to 10 and more.

Good if you have kids, who would like to learn the numbers or are a bit slow in this.

Maths teacher
it can do maths. Try it. Tell your kids. Get rid of the calculator!. It can do addition, multiplication and more. Get rid of that maths teacher.

Ask Google- Can you say A to Zee

This is a good command to teach your kids ABCD.

Madlibs/ Riddles/ Trivia

Just get your kids to  say to Google – Hey Google Im bored ( I’m sure they will readily say that)

madlibs

This is a fun game. It will play a game with you and if you choose madlibs. It will ask you adjective words.. etc.. Good for kids learning. But better keep a watch on this teacher as I am not 100% confident of th responses for this. Though spin the wheel is fun.

It will also give you options to spin a wheel or tell a riddle or joke.( they keep improving on this one, which means it’s in high demand)

Rhymes for kids

It knows to do twinkle twinkle little star, you can test out some other rhymes too and keep the little ones entertained.

Spelling bee
Want your kid to get good at spelling bee. Get Google to do the hard work for ya. Ask Google spellings for words.

Learning languages – Japanese- Mandarin and konichiwa

Learning languages can also be fun with Google.  You can teach  your children  to say hello  in Japanese, mandarin, Indian, Spanish and many other  languages thanks to Google home

Want some Google humour?

Just ask – Hey google sing a song!

This one’s a good one if you have nothing better to do, just tell Google this and keep telling the same thing (Hey google sing a song!). You will realise Google certainly has patience and some humour.

Cooking timer

Just tell Google to set timer for 15 minutes, 30 minutes or a time and it will remind you with an alarm to take the food of the gas or the pizza out of the oven. Quite handy, if your Google home is placed near to the kitchen lounge.

Set timer
You, can use the same feature as above but as a reminder for anything

Set alarm
All you need is to tell Google wake me up at 6am and it works like an morning alarm. Now you can get rid of your alarm clock

How is my day looking
This command makes use of your settings on google assistant. Based on what you have set up on your account, it can read up your appointments, reminders, read the weather for the day and much more. You can also set which website you want your news from.

My adventures with Mr google home

I still remember the first time I got Google home and tried getting the weather. My partner immediately told me – Haha Google H is Americano. He’s giving 68 Fahrenheit weather for today. We live in Australia not USA.  So I thought I will tell try Mr Google himself to fix it and so i told Google to give me weather in Celsius and to my surprise it actually worked.

It confirmed that weather was updates to Celsius settings. I did not believe it being new to all this. So checked weather again and hot diggity damn – Indeed it was updated, without pressing any buttons.

The Google home device is pretty good at listening because that’s the core of what this device does. It listens to your question or suggestion and tries to answer it right.

This device got omni-directional mic’s fitted into it, so you can speak from anywhere within its range and it will hear you and respond. It also works well as speaker.

Google Home as Audio Speakers
You can use your home device to play music too. I managed to play music via my sound cloud app on my smartphone. It’s got good bass in those speakers.

music apps with g home

Apparently It also works with Google music and spotify

Google and Netflix Story

netflix and smart tv

Netflix is quite popular nowdays in aussies homes. Cheap and better than foxtel and guess what – it ties in nicely with your google home.

Just tell google to play the next episode of “House of Cards” or “Narcos” and it will start it for you. You will need to link your netflix account to google assistant to get this happening

So today, i decided to link my netflix to google as they told me I could do it. I linked netflix and told google to play House of cards on the tv.

It didn’t do it!

Two hours later, I had to play doc mcstuffins for my little one and netflix told me I cant as there was somebody else using my netflix account. I found out that House of cards had been streaming in the background because I had told it to. So this happended via chromecast and netflix and i didn’t even know.

Yes that command i gave to start Netflix actually worked but it was streaming on chrome cast, so i forgot to switch source to chromecast to check. Now, I’m two episodes behind on house of cards.

The problem is they made all these gadgets smart, but not smart enough. For eg. Google home started streaming netflix house of cards episode, but it did it via chromecast and not directly via netflix and so it was not able to change the TV source button on my TV, when it started streaming and so it was playing the episode in the background via my Samsung smart TV.

Solution- Change you TV source to Netflix on your TV, then tell home to start next episode of “House of cards”

Getting your local Bunning’s – Store/Bank – open/shut times

I had to go to Bunning’s recently to get some paint for a painting walls job, so i asked google – until what time Bunning’s Morley is open – it did say 7pm (was pretty good, as i didn’t have to search on my phone or desktop). In fact if i wanted i could also ask it for the store number if i wanted to call them on my mobile.

Which I actually made use of later in the day. I needed to know if Bunning’s lets dog into their stores – turns out they do. If the dog is on the trolley and on leash – no muzzle is needed, but if you are walking the dog in store then a muzzle and leash is needed.

I have a cute little Maltese poodle named chase (yes he has his own Facebook page) that was a good fit for the top tray on the Bunning’s trolley, so off we went taking him for a Bunning’s adventure.

You can use this feature to get restaurant, offices, local deli etc open close times

Smart Lights & Devices

You can just tell google to dim your lights and it will dim your lights or turn it off if you have smart lights in your house. Some of the smart lights that work with GH are below.

  1. Phillips Hue Lights
  2. Nano Leaf Lights
  3. Belkin Wemo APP
  4. Tp Link Kasa

TV speaks  to GH

Today I was watching TV and suddenly Google mumbled something. It almost sounded like an apologetic mumble.

As no one around spoke to Google, I would assume it would have to be the TV speaking to my Google home.  Yeh my smart TV speaks to google home too and that has been happening a lot more with the new Google home ads triggering off my Google home which is sitting right next to the tv.

GHome Makes – 911 Call to Police

Did you read the news of the guy who got caught by police threatening his girlfriend? Our very own gangsta G-home picked up on a few words and called 911. Police listened in and decided to act.

Let us know about your G home Experience

Do you own a Google home, have you any interesting things to add about your google home experience, just leave me a comment below, I would be glad to hear about it.

Some Helpful Links for google home

Reset your windows 10 password in under 5 minutes

by

Updated 20 September 2020  – If you lost or forgot your windows password and need to “reset the windows 7 password” , its not to hard to recover your  forgotten windows account password with the right software. You can fix your desktop as well as laptop password problems even “windows 10” pass quickly with the right recovery tool.

If you have already googled the internet on “ways to recover your forgotten password”,  you might  have found and read various articles like below.

  • 7 Free Windows Password Recovery Tools

  • 5 Ways To Find Lost Windows Passwords

  • How to unlock windows admin  password with command line

Forgot windows 7 password then Unlock windows computer with Resetter windows password software and tool

To get the unlocking software go here or check updated 2020 software list below  or check out this youtube demo video before buying

If you forgot your account or administrator password in windows, then you can unlock windows computer with  Reset windows password software. What this software does is essentially just resets your password on your operating system,  so that  you can just login and create  a new password –  it does not have to retrieve your old  forgotten password.

You don’t need a Microsoft account for this unlocking process, but you will need a USB drive if you dont have a blank CD to gain access back into the PC.

Unfortunately, aside from the original password reset disk there is no Windows-provided way to reset a Windows 10 password.  If you have not created a password reset disk earlier, then your out of luck with this windows provided method.

A reset disk can still be created  when you use a different custom made software for this purpose (Link below)

 

3 NEW UNLOCKING SOFTWARE  BELOW (UPDATED 2020)

  1.  

the zapper australia

Get  the zapper software >> here on Amazon

2.

 

CD disk for recovery of password

Get the recovery disk >> here on Amazon

3.

 

win recovery USB

Get The WIN recovery USB >> over here on Amazon

Most people are not always looking for  a technical guide on how to unlock your computer after you have locked yourself out of your windows computer or just forgotten your pass. People are generally looking for a simple quick solution on how to gain access back again into their computer or PC.

The software below when used, can easily get you back into your  windows computer (or even laptop computer) if you are running any of the windows version  like –windows 7 , 8.1, windows 10, windows xp, windows 2000 or NT, windows vista  and even the Newest Windows 8 version and you don’t need the original “password reset disk”

This software is not suitable to reset your apple id or macbook computer or laptop or android  systems like Samsung galaxy note or tablets.

So if you looking to do one of the below

  1. Reset your forgotten windows password
  2. How to reset a windows 7 computer
  3. Recover your windows laptop computer password
  4. Forgot or lost your windows  10 password

Then this windows xp to 10 unlocking software is for you. You can  just load this software and get your windows 7 pc  password in under 5 minutes. This is  specialised windows unlocking software created specifically for this purpose. This program also works on the new windows 10 edition

You can reset your windows  7 password quickly  in 3 Easy steps

This software unlocks all these windows versions below including laptop computers

forgot windows 7 laptop 32 and 64 bit password get resetter and unlocker tool

recover windows vista password and xp too

How to reset windows xp or 2000 password and vista

and also the newest  windows 7 8 password laptop how to login into computer version

 

And best of all you don’t need  to be a nerd or geek and you don’t need any technical or programming skills to use this  software.

You can download the software and reset your password in just 3 easy steps

This software is called

password resetter and admin passreset password pro

What you need though  to unlock is

  • A spare CD/DVD or USB drive and stick
  • This Reset Password Pro ( software)
  • A few minutes of your time!

Go here to get the  quick process to  reset your windows password

Once you buy this software  you don’t need to worry  about ever forgetting your  windows password   as you will have this software handy and you could possibly help out a friend as well who has got into trouble  with forgetting their password.

Good luck!

Forgot windows 7 pass | Unlock windows computer | Reset windows password software

 
download the reset software now and unlock pc
This password solution software works on most brand computers including
  • DELL
  • HP
  • ACER
  • ASUS
  • Microsoft
  • Lenovo
and even more laptop brands as long as they are using  the windows operating system.
LIKE WHAT YOU’VE READ?
Please join over 1,000 people who receive exclusive notification every time I publish a new article on Digitalgrog.com.au. Click on the red button below to subscribe!
Check it out

Choose from the best web hosting plans for 2018: Australia Vs US Hosting

by

Here at DigitalGrog we regularly publish  step by step guides to creating a website, web hosting comparisons, reviews of hosting providers and domain name services.

Below is a detailed listing of webhosting companies with prices and features. This will help  you get started on your new journey if your creating a new business website or just a personal blog.

Godaddy Australia

If you are on a budget and price matters to get you started, you might want to try the current Godaddy deal- Click here above

Our recommendation is for Bluehost – Current deal here for a WordPress website or blog  and WP-Engine if your starting a business website – Current deal here.

 

[go_pricing id=”compare7hosts”]

 

Hosting Comparison – Australia Or US Host ?

Hosting in Australia is significantly more expensive than most other places in the world. Most of it comes down to some of the high cost of labour in Australia and of course infrastructure/backhaul internet/DC fees.

Latency is not the most important aspect of the loading times between here and the US and should be considered if you are running a high traffic website.

australia

Often when comparing how fast a server is providing content, factors like comparing the application stack, use of hardware load balancers, caching, CDN’s server technology etc are not taken into account when it should be.

 

Does US hosting IP affect my website ranking?

Search engines like google base their algorithms on a number of factors, one of them being the IP address location. Getting a country TLD domain can help, such as a .com.au domain for a business website or blog targeting Australian viewers.

Overseas hosting can still get results  by using proper SEO techniques and Google tweaks, like logging into the google search engine webmaster tools and telling them who your target market is.

A US host with a CDN can also help, if you want to go one step further by speeding up your loading time further and getting a nearby network point to your country.

Webhosting Acronyms Glossary and Meanings

Below is many words related to website hosting and managing. It is acronyms, features and just about a glossary for website related terms. This might be helpful when you are trying to make sense of terms when you build your first website or purchase services to create your first blog or webpage.

CMS – Content Management System is a program used to publish, edit and modify content on a given websites. CMS is often used to run websites containing blogs, news and shopping sites.

SSL – Secure Socket Layer is a cryptographic protocol that was designed to provide communication security over the internet.

CSS – Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the overall look and format of a site that has been written in a markup language.

Disk Space – The amount of space allocated to you on the server to store files, pages, emails, and more.

Uptime – The amount of time the server is uninterrupted and your website is accessible. This is typically shown as a percentage. You want a high uptime (99% and above) so as not to disrupt access to your site

Reseller Hosting – Where a block of server resources is sold to an individual for purposes of using it to host multiple domains under their own name

Control Panel – The control panel is the central hub for a web hosting account. This is where the user modifies and controls all aspects of their web hosting such as adding new domains and sub domains, uploading web pages and installing server applications

MySQL – A database system that is often included in hosting packages. It is commonly used with a variety of applications

PHP – Hypertext Pre-Processor is a server-side scripting language designed for the development of websites and can also be used as a general-purpose programming language

Linux Server – A server that uses Linux, a free, open source operating system used by most shared and free web hosts

Windows Server – A server that uses Windows as the operating system. This type of plan is typically more expensive but necessary to accommodate specific applications

Add-domain – It is additional domains which can be createed from the main domain control panel without having a separate hosting account. It had all features just like a main domain, but with no cPanel control.

Sub-domain – A subdomain is a subsection of your website that can exist as a new website without a new domain name. Use subdomains to create memorable URLs for different content areas of your site.

Dont delay getting started! Better today than tomorrow.

Good luck!

Our Other popular related posts :

Why I love elegant themes website builder plugin

 | July 29, 2017 | 5 Comments
Why I love elegant themes website builder plugin

Looking for the perfect fully mobile responsive WordPress themes for your site? Check out our expert pick of the best responsive WordPress theme suitable for blog websites and even landing pages.

This page builder plugin and theme is the ultimate resource you need to enhance and build with any wp site to transform your pages and blog posts.

CONTINUE READING

Is Google Home Smart Device Worth the Money

 | October 3, 2017 | 0 Comments
Is Google Home Smart Device Worth the Money

I could think of at least a dozen reasons why Google Home actions would be useful, such as playing music when I get home or telling me the weather for the next day or just reading me the news or playing the next episode of Narcos on netflix.

CONTINUE READING

 

Compare the best web hosting plans for 2017: Australia Vs US Hosting

 | February 19, 2017 | 19 Comments
Compare the best web hosting plans for 2017: Australia Vs US Hosting

Compare the top webhosting providers for Australia and US in 2017 before you get a new hosting account. Compare features and prices and more

CONTINUE READING